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18x 

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22x 

26x 

30x 

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12x 

16x 

20x 

24x 

28x 

Zl 

32x 


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empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  eech  microfiche 
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required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniAre  Image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  —*^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  etre 
filmAs  i  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmd  i  partir 
de  t'angle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  la  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1 

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6 

MICROCOPY   RESOLUTION   TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


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I'ff  IS 

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k.ti.u 

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1.4 

1.6 

^  ^IPPLIED  IIVMGE     Inc 

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To 


MINCBNT  STARRBTT 
for  that  he,  toe,  was  once 
young  and  given  to  dreams  of 
high  emprise,  unwitting  the 
slogging  ambuscades  of  destiny 
that  mock  the  head  held  high... 

This  Relic 
of  past  playtimes  is  proffered 
^y  him  that  plays  no  more,  at 
>)asticcio  or  monograph  or 
what  you  will  —  a  curiosity 
authored  by 


Ics^""^---*-^ 


L'ARBRE        CROCHE 
MISSION 


A     MemorabU     Relation 
Briefl)^     Setting      Fortfi     Hh* 

Historical     Facts 

And    Eschewing   All  Fable   & 

Legend,   As   Erected    B^ 

Untutored     Minds , 

Touching    Upon    Ofhe    Justlj^ 

Famed    Mission    Of 

^TKe     Crooked    Tr 


*\ 


B9     H.   BEDFORD -JONES.    Esquire 


Printed 

Bo     OKe     Same     At     <TKe 

Sign 

of     'TKe     Crossed     Quills 

In      Sta.       Barbara 

I9I7 


For6?  copies,  Kand-printed 
b>>  tKe  Au4»or,  &  dis- 
tributed     pri\atel>T  . 


Inscrlbafil   to   Kim   wKom   comprakcnsivc 

IcnowUdge   of  tK«   old    northwest   m««ti 

wi^    more    recognition    abroad    than    at 

horn* ;    mf    friend 

HENRY     McCONNELL 


PREFACE 


The  material  contained  Herein  Kas  been 
compilea  from  original  sources  h^  one  Henr? 
McConnell,  who  can  trul^?  sajJ  of  nortKem 
Michigan    annals,    "Magna    pars    fui." 

nitis  volume  is  not  controversial.  Its  in- 
tent is  to  give  concisely  the  actual  stor?  of 
a  famous  mission.  A  great  deal  of  trash  has 
been  written  about  I'Arbre  Croche  b^  lazjl 
or  honestl)^  ignorant  dabblers;  and  this  book 
is  not  copyrighted  in  hope  that  others  ma>) 
find    profitable    instruction    therein. 


H.  Bedford-Jones 


Santa  Barbara,    Calif. 


J 


God    made    a    little    crooked    tree 

And    set    it    on    tKe    shore , 
A    thing    of   v»ondrous    sancti^i^ 
To    paynim    folk .     But    presently) 
Came    men    who    hailed    the    myster? 
And    preached    a    fai^h    of   chari^j) 
All    up    and    down    the    shore . 


t'l 


The]?    built    a    church    upon    the    shore 

Benea4\    the    crooked    tree, 
And    taught    the    pa^rnim    to    abhor 
TTie    gods    by    which    his    fathers    swore; 
It    proved    a    simple    labor ,    for 
^^e    Cross    the))    gathered    to    adore 
Was    but    a    Crooked    Tree! 


gl'ARBRE       fQlROCHE 


1  S  S  I  O  Nj 


f 


H.    Bedford-Jones    &    H.    McConnell, 

M«mb«r«    Michigan    &    Wisconsin 
Hift .     Sod«ti«$  .     Etc  . 


L  Arbre  CrocKe,  tKe  crooked  tree,  was  a 
prominent  landmark  of  earlj)  voyageurs  on  Lake 
Michigan;  the  hooked  top  of  the  great  pine  was 
"Visible  for  miles.  It  occupied  a  point  near  what 
is  no^  Middle  Village,  between  Little  Traverse 
and  Waugoshance,  its  Indian  name  being  War- 
gun-uk-ke-zee ,    or  the  bent  tree.     It  was  sacred. 

The  tree  was  in  place    until  the  earl^  years 


1'   lA  m  j9  m  4t      CA<9ci^«tf 

of  the  last  centur? ,  wKen  certain  bickering  red 
:;.en  cut  it  down.  Wi^  the  fall  of  this  the 
s>;mbol  of  their  greatness  and  life-pulse,  thej) 
too  fell ;  and  the  mould  of  I'arbre  creche  lined 
their    graves . 

After  all,  often  we  jind  that  God  has  a 
purpose  in  altering  the  natural  shapes  of  men 
and  things.  Sometimes  He  speaks  thru  such  a 
man  or  thing  —  perhapc  a  burning  bush .  ^The 
High    Cross    was    but    a    crooked    tree . 


In  1740  the  Ottawas  about  Fort  Michilli- 
mackinac  were  dissatisfied  wifli  their  unproduct- 
ive lands ,  and  thej?  sent  forth  parties  to  seek 
ne-sJ  fields .  Qhis  alarmed  the  French ,  fiercel)' 
struggling    to    retain    their    fur    trade. 

De  Blainville,  second  in  command  at  the 
post,  spent  that  winter  widi  tne  Ottawas  and 
fetched  them  back  in  the  spring .  Commandant 
de  Celeron  took  the  chiefs  to  Quebec  to  hold 
a    council    wim    the    Marquis    de    Beauharnois . 

'Tne  Governor  submits  new  locations ,  offers 
to    light    a  fire  at  the    spot  chosen ,  and  promises 


10 


Kis  ^endsKip  and  a  great  flag  of  France.  In 
tK*  following  summer  we  find  tKe  chiefs  back 
in  Montreal  witfi  word  that  thejl  had  settled  at 
1  Arbre  Croche .  "Ma5>  your  hearts ,"  says  Beau- 
harnois,  "be  as  white  as  the  great  flag  I  have 
caused  to  be  hoisted  in  your  village!"  Hlius 
it    is    settled. 


Meantime  the  old  Jesuit  mission  of  Saint 
Ignace  de  Michillimackinac ,  holding  the  bones 
of  Marquette,  had  been  abandoned  and  burned. 
Above    the    signature   of   de    Ligner5>  I  ^,    q^ 

find    what    others    have  missed    —  that        Mooted    L>.ta 
he    moved    the    post    in    1720    to    what        N«»»>     S«tl«d 
is  now    Old  Mackinaw.     Hlie    nussion 
followed :    thence    witfi    the    Ottawas    and  Jesuits 
to    I'Arbre    Croche    in    1741 . 

Henry  locates  I'Arbre  Croche  twenfp  miles 
west  of  the  fort.  Puthoff's  census  of  i8ig  gives 
it  as  ten  towns  wi^  a  population  of  1500.  In 
the  first  gazeteer  of  Michigan  it  is  placed  ten 
miles  sou^west  of  MackinaW.  Farmer's  map  of 
1846    places  it  at  Harbor  Springs .     Andrews ,  in 


1853  ■  puts  it  twenfi?-five  miles  sou^west  of  Mack- 
'm»yi .  WKere  w  a  «  T  Arlare  Croche  ?  Puzzling 
as  tKese  varied  locations  have  been  to  Kistor- 
ians,    it    will    be    sKown    tbat    all    -were    correct. 

Beauhamois  kept  fai(h  wiiK  tbe  red  settlers, 
sending  the  French  from  Mackinaw  to  aid  them. 
B]?  degrees  the  entire  shore-line  down  to  Little 
Traverse  Ba]?  was  cleared  for  tillage  and  dotted 
wt4i  villages.  ^TKe  whole  was  blanketed  under 
the    generic    term    of   TArbre    Croche. 

In  1742  came  Joseph  Ainse,  "a  master  car- 
penter." He  built  a  church  near  the  principal 
village  and  \r^  the  crooked  tree,  where  Cross 
Village  noW  is.  Here  the  abstract  became  the 
concrete  name,  and  here  was  located  "Le  Reg- 
istre    de    Wouveau    Mackinac."' 


nhe  mission,  its  farms  and  lands,  was  the 
nucleus  and  center  of  all .  Meither  seats  nor 
floor  had  the  log  church;  since  it  did  not  last 
so  ver?  long,  perhaps  it  was  not  well  builded . 
niie  French  Jesuits  were  so  eager  to  save  souls 
that  the^J  neglected  to  glorif>>  God,  in  the  sense 


la 


R*z«k.  Vol.  II    p.  „, 


jM  3  >  >  3  •  ^ 


of  building  greatly  as  did  their  brethren  in  the 
Cahfomias.  Further,  Master  Ainse  was  newl3> 
wedded,  and  the  first  person  to  be  buried  in 
the  nn^  church  was  his  child.  ^Therefore  let 
us    love    him    foi*    his    shortcomings ! 

Benea^  the  kindly  French  rule  our  Otta> 
was  increased  and  multiplied;  their  lands  were 
rich  and  t\\e^  prospered.  Pere  du  Jauna^'  was 
among    them . 

From    a    letter    written    Irp    de    la    Richardie 
at  Detroit  in  1741 ,  addressed  to  du  Jauna^  at  the 
river    louchetanon ,"    it    has  been  supposed  that 
du  Jauna<>    was   then    in    Indiana,    this         l, 
address  being  mistaken  for  a  variant  of       fi^j^    Found 
Ouiatanon.  'Tlie  statement  of  'TKwaite         In     Error 
and    others    that    du  Jauna>>    was    app- 
ointed   to    I'Arbre    Cioche    in    1744,    is    entirely 
wrong . 

louchetanon  is  the  Ottawa  term  for  Grand 
River ,  is  rightlp  spelled ,  and  means  "far-flung 
water.  ^Thus  Pere  du  Jauna^^  was  wintering  wi^h 
his    Ottawas  at  Grand  River ,  as  was  customar^i^ . 

'3 


t-    m  n  Jf  n  <ti      <c«i««^<(E 

Du  Jauna^?  came  to  MicKillimackinac  in  1735 
and  remained  thiit?  years.  In  '66  he  was  in 
cKarge  of  Pointe  aux  Trembles,  Quebec,  dying 
there  in  '81.  Some  writers  call  him  "Pierre 
Luc";    his    signature    is    always    "P.  du  Jaunaip". 


His  letters  from  I'Arbre  Croche  are  deeply 
interesting,  balanced  between  devotion  to,  and 
sadness  over,  his  work.  He  was  the  life  and 
soul  of  the  crooked  tree;  yet  ever  he  sa^  his 
flock  bedeviled  b]?  traders,  voyageurs ,  soldiers. 
No;  might  he  settle  down  to  quiet  days  and 
softl]?    chiming    hours. 

When  the  "old  fort"  fell  in  '63,  it  was 
du  Jauna]?  who  influenced  the  Ottawas  to  save 
the  hapless  Englishmen;  it  was  he  who  carried 
word  of  their  plight  to  leaguered  Detroit  and 
returned  wi4i  Gladwin's  orders,  pleading  peace 
upon  Pontiac  en  route.  Afterward,  he  writes 
Langlade  of  ho^  his  converts  had  secured  rum 
and  had  made  him  suffer  in  bod>'  and  spirit. 
Assisting  du  Jauna>)  at  various  times  were 
Coquart,  who  came  west  wifh  Verendrye  and 
14 


J»  a  .*  ;»  3  (•  jl 


died  at  tK«  Saguena:?  misfion  in  '65;  Morinie, 
wKo  stayed  tw«lv«  years;  and  le  Franc,  wKo 
stayed  nine.  Du  Jauna>l  mentions  a  "dear  bro- 
ther Nicolas  Demers"  of  whom  we  kno^  naught. 
Through  all  the  flaming  years  the  central 
figure  is  that  of  du  Jauna:?.  He  it  was  whom 
the  Indians  revered,  whose  name  thej^  cherished 
and  whose  pa&s  and  walks  thej^  pointed  out  to 
their  children.  After  his  going  the  crooked  tree 
bare   no   good    fruit. 

LArbre  Croche  mission  was  abandoned  be- 
nea(h  British  rule.  TKe  registers,  particularly 
that  of  baptisms,  tell  the  result:  "child  of  a 
savage  woman",  "father  wintering  on  Grand  ri- 
ver",   "natural    son    of  -"    and    so   fortf\. 

Yet    these  Ottawas  of  I'Arbre  Croche  were 
men    among  men.     The]?  were  witft    Denonville 
and    signed  peace   wi{h    the    Iroquois  in 
1701;    the:9    followed    Langlade    to    Fort     ^^'"    ^""* 
Du  Quesne  and  sle^  Braddock's  men  ;      ^°'^    °"' 
tUeS    were    at  the   Plains    of   Abraham  "^ 

and    the    subsequent    battles,    afterward  signing  a 
15 


tr««6?    wJlK    bir    Wm.    JoHnton    «t    Detroit . 

<TK*y  were  wt4<  Burgoyne  in  Nr»?  York , 
and  wirti  Hamilton ,  unjustly?  termed  "tKe  Kair- 
buyer ';  therp  were  at  the  assauh  •  St.  Louis ; 
tKe:?  aided  Robert*  in  capturing  KlKclunav? ,  and 
McDouall  in  repelling  tKe  Americans ;  tKej^  ass- 
isted at  tKe  capture  of  Prairie  du  CKien .  and 
Kelped  burn  Buffalo.  Also  tKe^^  ate  tKeir  dead 
enemies .    ait    Tanner    recounts  . 


In  1799  Gabriel  RicKard  stopped  at  I'Arbre 
CrocKe,  finding  just  one  baptised  Ottawa  out 
of  tKirteen  Kundred .  In  vain  Kad  tKe^?  petit- 
ioned tKe  EnglisK  for  a  priest .  even  subscrib- 
ing 2308  francs  annuall^j?  for  Kis  support .  Being 
denied ,    tKe^^    drifted    back    to    paganism . 

RicKard  found  I'Arbre  CrocKe  to  be  no^rf 
five  miles  south  of  tKe  old  site .  La  Mission 
was  marked  onl]?  b]?  a  great  oaken  cro?"  KigK 
on  tKe  bluff .  'TKe  crooked  tree  was  forgotten 
of    mei\ . 

God  ,  Kowever  ,  does  not  forget .  Over  tKe 
desolate    I'Arbre    CrocKe  ,    tenanted    hy)    pagans , 

16 


lost    in    t'  c    rising    importance    of   otKcr    placM, 
still    hovered    tKe    sKadov?    of    a    cross. 


^7K«  years  waxed  and  waned.  U  was  i8ai 
wKen  Pere  Richard  revisited  I'Arbre  Croche;  he 
found   even    the    Indian    agent  a    whiske^^-trader . 

But,  two  years  later,  eight  Ottawa  chiefs 
petitioned  Congress  for  missionaries;  and  Chief 
Magati-Pinsigo  sent  a  further  plea.  Boih  were 
ignored.  From  careless  perusal  of  this  petition 
sprang  the  astounding  assertion  that  Marquette 
founded    I'Arbre    Croche . 

In  1825  Fr.  F.  V.  Badin  visited  the  missions, 
and  hearing  of  his  approach,  the  Ottawas  of 
the  crooked  tree  erected  a  lo£»  chapel 
at  Seven-mile  Point.  It  was  c«.".secrat- 
ed  Jul))  3q4i,  and  dedicated  to  Saint 
Vi'-ent  de  Paul.  Badin  twice  retum- 
«d,  and  inspired  two  ladies  of  Mackinaw  to 
become  teachers.  Richard  was  no^  in  Wash- 
ington, and  shamed  the  government  into  com- 
pliance. Word  spread  abroad  that  the  crooked 
tree    was    about    to    bud    for^h . 

«7 


Aft.r 

TV»e    Fallot'' 
Y«iir5 


1'    B  ti  If  a  e     c«<9cir<e 

Assaquinac,  tKe  Drummond's  Island  inter- 
preter. Heard  tKe  word.  Renouncing  his  English 
pension  and  post,  he  hurried  to  I'Arbre  Croche, 
and  remained  as  teacher.  H}>mnals  and  pra^^er 
books  in  the  Ottawa  tongue  were  brought  from 
Montreal.  When,  in  1827,  Jean  Dejean  came 
from  the  Huron  as  the  first  stationar:9  priest, 
he    found   a    hundred    and    fjf^    Christians. 


No^  the  old  tree  budded  ane^ ,     A  town , 
church,    village,    school    and    manse   were    built; 
TK.  Pint        ""*    ®*    *^*   °^*^    «"*«.    l>ut    where     no^ 
T«np«nc      "  Harbor  Springs.     A  temperance  soc- 
Sod^  i«6?    was    formed    -    the  first  in  Amer- 

ica, b:?  the  wa3?.  Joseph  Latourno 
taught  the  French  tongue  and  manners.  Dejean 
compiled  and  printed  a  ne^  prayer  book  for  his 
six    hundred    converts . 

L'Arbre  Croche  was  at  this  time  in  the 
diocese  of  Cincinnati.  In  1829  arrived  Bishop 
Fenwick ,  and  took  back  wifh  him  Augustin  Ham- 
elin  and  William  Blackbird,  who  studied  under 
Fenwick  and  even  went  on  to  Rome .  Qhe>>  did 
18 


J3S  3  >  >  3  4»  jB 


not  attain  the  priesthood,  Hamelin  returning  to 
Kis  tribe  and  Blackbird  dying  in  Rome.  Olie 
sill]?  assertion  is  still  heard  that  Bleckbird  was 
murdered  because  he  opposed  the  sale  cf  Ir.oian 
lands ! 

Dejean  went  his  way,  and  in  1831  came 
one  whose  star  was  to  shine  high  in  the  after 
years    -    Frederick    Baraga    the    Austrian. 

Baraga  was  both  student  and  explorer,  and 
the  greatest  missionary?  of  his  place  and  time. 
From  the  start  he  made  I'Arbre  Croche  a  cen- 
ter   of   zealous    activi^ . 

Earl3>  in  1832  he  carried  the  work  01.  to 
Beaver  Island,  then  dedicated  a  church  at  In- 
dian Lake,  Manistique.  Tliis  last  site  is  no^ 
a  summer  resort;  the  cemetery)  was  fenced  and 
preserved  b]?  Ossawinamakee ,  son  of  the  former 
chief.  Returning  to  the  islands,  Baraga  found 
a  chapel  erected  and  a  collection  of  "idolatrous 
articles"    for    burning . 

In   June    he    founded    the    Cheboygan    miss- 
ion   —    not    at    the    present    town  of  that    name, 
19 


i'i 


I 


a  R  25  «  <tt    <c  n  o  c  ti  v; 


However .  Tliis  mission  was  at  an  Indian  town 
a  dajl  and  a  Kalf  b]?  water  from  I'Arbre  CrocKe, 
and  was  later  served  from  Little  Traverse;  show- 
ing indisputably)  that  tkis  was  tke  Burt  Lake  vill- 
age,   none    whatever    existing    at    Cheboygan. 

In  August  came  Fenwick  wiAi  a  code  of 
dvil  laws  —  a  final  gift,  for  this  was  the  year 
of   cholera,  and  a  fe^»^  weeks  later  he  was  dead. 

Baraga  went  to  Detroit  and  there  printed 
his  Ottawa  prayer  book  and  catechism;  an  im- 
provement on  Dejean's  work,  which  had  held 
too  manj)  Algonquin  words.  Returning,  he  had 
a    snowbound    and    unhappy)    winv  r. 

^Then  came  his  last  months  here.  In  June 
he  went  to  the  old  site,  21  miles  nor^ .  A 
log  church  was  built  and ,  because  the  St.  Ig- 
nace  mission  had  been  carried  hither,  dedicated 
b>)  the  same  name.  On  the  bluffs  the  great 
cross,  renewed  in  1832,  produced  Ville  la  Croix 
as  place-name ;    the    Cross    Village    of   toda]? . 

Baraga  moved  his  Beaver  Island  converts  to 
the  mainland ,   re-founded    the    mission  on  Grand 

30 


River,    and    made  a  final  tour.     Tlien    Ke  went 
nor4i    to    Kis    larger    work    and    his    bisKopric . 

Came  FatKer  Saenderl ,  but  left  slight  re- 
cord, save  that  I'Arbre  Croche  came  wi4tin  the 
nev)  diocese  of  Detroit.  He  was  relieved  in  the 
fall    of    1835    h^    Francis    Pierz,    a    Pole. 


Pierz  has  been  termed  the  father  of  agri- 
cultural colleges.  He  flung  himself  into  the  task 
of  making  a  farming  communis? ,  built  a  sawmill, 
taught  the  Indians  ho^  to  use  the  soil .  For 
seventeen  years  he  worked ,  Fr.  Mrak  aiding  him. 
But  the]?  could  not  prevail  egainst  the 
changing  times;  their  schools  and  in- 
oculations were  not  proof  against  the 
inrushing  settlers.  Before  the  ringing 
axes  fled  the  last  memory*  of  blackrobe  and  voy- 
ageur.  Mackina'sS,  where  the  annual  pensions 
were  paid ,  was  a  hellhole .  White  fishermen 
reaped    the    lake    harvest . 

Place-names  altered .  He  aux  Galets  became 
Skilagalee;  Waugoshance,  Wobbleshanks ;  and  in 
place  of  I'Arbre  Croche  was    Little  Traverse .   So 


'The   B«ginning 

Of 

^The   EnJ 


ai 


ail3A4S      Cil4^CI^<C 


passed    for    ever    tlie    old    missio.i's    name. 

Docks  for  "shipping-wood"  lined  the  lake 
shores  and  presaged  the  lumbering  era.  James 
Jesse  Strang  seized  the  Beavers  and  established 
a  Mormon  kingdom  —  destined  to  a  future  of 
blood  and  tears.  Smallpox  stalked  through  the 
land ,    ravaging . 

Because  of  these  things,  wi4\  a  decrease  in 
the  pensions,  our  Ottawas  gradually)  drifted  off 
into  the  northwest  ---  not  b^^  wholesale,  but  in 
a  steady?  trickle  of  emigration.  Still,  in  after 
years  there  was  no  lack  of  I'Arbre  Croche  men 
to    sla>>    and    be    slain    on    sou^iern    battlefields. 

John  Bernard  Weikamp,  a  superior  of  the 
Franciscan  order,  was  involved  in  serious  trouble 
wi^  Bishop  O' Regan  of  Chicago.  He  came 
nortft.  Baraga,  no^  bishop  in  charge  of  the 
missions,  recognized  the  man's  value  and  gave 
him    harborage . 

Weikamp  arrived  in  Cross  Village  NJov.  25, 
1855 ,  followed  three  days  later  b^  Baraga ,  who 
remained    over    Christmas  and  gave    minor  orders 

32 


to    two    of    Weikamp's    novitiates . 

'TKus  was  the  nev7  foundation  establishea ; 
not  wi^ut  tKe  fold  of  mother  church ,  as  is 
often  af}irmed,  but  wi^h  due  sanction  and  au- 
tKori^    bo^    then    and    later . 


Weikamp  was  well  able  to  discover  and  to 
graft  the  shards  of  the  ancient  tree.  B3)  1858 
he  had  centralized  the  other  missions  upon  his 
Cross  Village  convent ;  he  had  four  brethren 
and  twelve  sisters  at  work;  and  in  June  Baraga 
consecriited    the    church    and    cemetery) . 

A  curious  structure ,  this !  In  the  center , 
the  square  church ,  and  on  either  side  cf  it , 
built  around  patios  but  forming  one  cortti  luous 
block ,  the  convent  of  a  hundred  bedrooms .  It 
was  not  onl]p  dormitorp  ,  but  held  schoolrooms , 
shops ,  refectories ,  etc .  Sou4i  of  the  convent 
was  a  small  building  wi^  a  four-sided ,  pointed 
roof.  A  trap  in  its  floor  gave  upon  a  vault, 
designed    to    hold    the    bod]p    of   the    superior. 

Even  novi  men  defame  the  dead  wi4i  tales 
of  hidden    weal4i    and    imrrusralifp    —  all    untrue . 

as 


Weikamp  kad  sKrewdl>)  secured  enough  acreage 
to  suppor'.  Kis  work,  but  was  not  laying  up  for 
Kimself    anS    treasure    upon    earfK . 

Olie  brethren  and  sisters  lived  entirely  sep- 
arate lives,  not  being  allowed  so  much  as  to 
speak  each  wifh  the  other.  aKe>>  had  given 
up  the  world;  and  therefore  the  world,  after 
its    fashion,    was    not    slov?    to    vilify    them. 

During  these  years    Protestant  missions  were 
numerous    but    accomplished    little    of    moment. 

Slowly)     the  long    years    passed    and  changes 
came    upon  the  nor^hland .     <The  mission    station 
of    Agaming   became    a    thriving    town    and    was 
named    Petoske^) .  after    one  of  the  local    Ottawa 
sub-chiefs,     ^e  lumbering  industr?  waxed  huge 
and    the    railroad    came,    and    men    grev?    rich  in 
despoiling    the    redskins    wi^    liquor.       Weikamp 
found    that    wifli    the    years    Cross    Village    dre^ 
farther    from    the    world;    it  was    off    the    advan- 
cing   course    of    traffic    and    trade,    and    wi^h  the 
altering    roads    became    difficult    of    access. 

So    it  came    to    pass    that  in  his  latter  years 

24 


Pere  Weikamp  spent  mucK  time  in  Kis  crypt, 
smoking  and  meditating.  His  v»ork  Kad  succ- 
eeded; but  the  red  men  were  vanishing,  and 
the  da9  of  missions  Kad  given  wa^?  to  that  of 
parishes . 


On  March  19.  1889.  Weikamp  died  from 
injuries  received  in  a  mnav,aj>  accident.  Ohe 
foundation   did    not    long    survive  him.  ,^ 

It    was   controlled  hS  a  stock    compan^l  ^ 

and    supported   b^    the    farm;    but  was  pj^ 

finallSI    abandoned    in    '96.    the    sisters 
retiring  to  Joliet.  Illinois.    Ten  years  later,  what 
remained    of   the    buildings  was    struck   hS    hght- 
r\ing    and    destroyed. 

OKus   perished    the  last  stock   of  the  famed 
crooked  tree,  probably    nevermore  to  be  revived. 
L'Arbre    Croche    was   but    a  backwash    from  the 
great   flood   of   histor>) ;    its    stor?  is  one  of  pett? 
and    local    endeavors,    of  continued    successes,  of 
repeated    failures     whereof    the    csuses    were    the 
fauh   of   no    man.     Us  picturesque    features  have 
made    appeal  to    "artistic    temperaments"  and  the 

as 


i; 


<i9««    c««cir« 


same  credulous  souls  wKo  go  into  raptures  over 
Alexander  Henri>'s  n\374\ical  friend  Wawatam , 
and  wKo  erect  marbles  to  petft>  local  redskins, 
neglecting  the  red  patriots  who  died  in  sou^- 
ern    prison-camps    or   battles. 


V 


TKe  KitKerto  unwritten  storp  of  the  crook- 
ed tree  is  replete  wi<K  sweet  touches,  and  is 
filled  wifli  the  high  spirit  of  men  who  worked 
and    suffered    in    the    service   of  God. 

Qfcis  booklet  cannot  pretend  to  set  for4i 
all  such  things  ---  ihe  letters  of  beloved  Pere 
du  JaunB]?,  the  reception  of  Bishop  Fenwick, 
the  pathetic  or  heroic  incidents  innumerable.  It 
can  give  but  the  sketchilj?  outlined  relation  of 
a  mission  whereof  the  ver^  name  is  no^  no 
nxore    than    a    memory? . 

A  failure?  Far  from  it.  <The  registers  of 
I'Arbre  Croche  tell  of  splendid  success;  not  as 
the  world  names  it  —  but  what  matters  the 
world's    esteem  ? 

Within    this  curt  outline,    then,    lies    a    sig- 
nificance   which    each  of  us    must    seek    for  him- 
26 


■'"-'■^  ^W!  %" I'tmvJWmWFiVWm.mmB  1.  m ^.^m* 


.0)  3  >  >  3  <8»  .n 


wlf;  an  inspiration  wKicK  can  discover  itself  onl^? 
to    tkose    wkose    Hearts    will    alla«9    entrance. 

And  at  I'Arbre  CtocKe  a  Half-witted  lajl 
brotHer  keeps  tHe  burial  crypt  of  Weikamp  and 
tHe   crooked    tree . 


L'ENVOI 

So  ends  tKe  talc  of  kov9  men  lived  and  died 
And    Ko^    all    ruined    is    the    crooked    tree; 

Yet  from  tKe  ancient  cliffs  a  Tree  Holds  wide 
Its    arms    unto    tKe    sunset's    memor:p . 

And    we    wKo   watcK    across   tKe   "Vagrant   years 
WKere  dea^K    makes  numicrp  of  Kope    —  sKall 


we 


Not   find    somewKere   wi4\in  tKe  blood  and  tears 
Of  men    wKo    served  tKeir   God,  a    myster:?? 

Men  pass ;  tKeir  tombs  decamp ,  tKeir  kingdoms 
wane , 

'TKeir  olden  fanes  fall  crumbling  to  tKe  sea; 
Yet  tKougK    lost    tKings    come  never  back  again 

A    Tree    Kolds    faiA\    in    immortali^i) ! 


p 


a 


H 


•  re 


End 


OK*     Stor^      Of 

LARBRE    CROCHE     MISSION 


Printed     B^     nhm    Autfior 

at 

nhm     Sign     Of     <7K«      Cro»Md     QuilU 

Santa     Barbara 
iqi7 


